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FILE - In this Nov. 27, 2011, file photo, Oakland Raiders running back Michael Bush (29) carries the ball against the Chicago Bears during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game in Oakland, Calif. Bush is joining the Chicago Bears, perhaps to team with Matt Forte and give the team two hard and effective runners who can alternate punishing defense. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

published Thursday, March 22, 2012

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Michael Bush is joining the Chicago Bears, perhaps to team with Matt Forte and give the team two hard and effective runners who can alternate punishing defense.

Or maybe in a more visible role should Forte hold out after he earlier was slapped with the franchise tag.

Bush played four seasons for the Oakland Raiders, gaining 2,642 yards (4.2 yards per carry) and scoring 21 touchdowns. The powerful 245-pound back had his most productive season in 2011, setting career highs in rushes (256), yards (977), touchdowns (7), receptions (37) and yards receiving (418). He mostly was a backup to Darren McFadden but had nine starts last season when McFadden was injured.

“I was told that the rotation will be very good,” Bush said in a conference call after signing a four-year deal the Chicago Tribune reported was worth $14 million, with $7 million guaranteed. “I think there are enough carries to go around.”

Forte, who sprained his knee in early December and missed the final month of the season but went to the Pro Bowl, has not been able to get a long-term deal from the Bears. He was given the franchise tag, meaning he will make $7.742 million next season if there is no new contract reached.

Forte went to Twitter to express his opinion of the signing of Bush, saying he had been “disrespected.”

“There’s only so many times a man that has done everything he’s been asked to do can be disrespected! Guess the GOOD GUYS do finish last,” his post read.

Forte finished 2011 with 1,487 yards from scrimmage and 997 rushing in his fourth season. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry. He was the first Chicago running back to make it to the Pro Bowl since Neal Anderson following the 1991 season.

Bush said he can relate to how Forte feels.

“It’s just one of those things where you want to be rewarded for your success. I understand, but that has nothing to do with me,” he said. “My job is to come here and play ball. If he wants to hold out, I know what he’s going through. I’m just going to be there doing what I’m supposed to do.”

Free agent receiver Andre Caldwell elected to sign with the Denver Broncos on Thursday in large part because of the presence of No. 18 under center.

“He gets the best out of the receivers,” said Caldwell, who spent the last four seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. “That’s a big reason why I came.”

Before acquiring Manning, there were concerns that maybe receivers would be reticent to come to Denver and play for a run-oriented quarterback in Tim Tebow.

Not so with Manning, the only four-time MVP in league history. Caldwell began talking with the Broncos just before news broke that Manning was coming on board.

And once it actually happened?

“Everything heated up,” Caldwell said. “I was all on board after they signed Peyton.”

The Broncos are anticipating that Manning’s magnetism will actually give them a crack at more of the top free agents on the open market. His aura certainly drew in Caldwell.

“He’s a veteran quarterback who knows how to win games,” Caldwell said. “He knows how to put players in positions to be their best.”

And if Tebow would’ve still been the starter?

“Everybody knows with Tebow, they were more of a running-style team,” Caldwell said. “They didn’t spread the ball around as much. (Manning) was a major impact.”

Still, Caldwell was hoping to reunite with Tebow in some capacity in the Mile High City, especially after the tandem developed a connection during their days at the University of Florida.

But they just missed each other.

As Caldwell arrived in Denver, Tebow was shipping out and taking his act to Broadway. The New York Jets acquired the unorthodox quarterback from Denver for draft picks on Wednesday night.

“Tebow is a good friend of mine,” Caldwell said. “I would’ve loved to have been here with him. But I know how this game goes.

CARR TO BACK UP ELI: David Carr is perfectly content being Eli Manning’s backup and knows his chances of playing aren’t the best in the world.

As for the other team that plays in MetLife Stadium and its developing situation at quarterback? Different story.

But as for the New York Giants, Carr — who officially re-signed Thursday despite not throwing a pass in either the regular season or the playoffs of their championship season — is just fine with everything, thank you.

“I’ve said it before, these guys, you play ball in high school, you play ball in college and there’s really not a better locker room that I’ve been in, and that’s including those times,” Carr said. “It’s a great environment. Guys keep you humble. They keep it loose. No one takes themselves too seriously, and with all the egos and all the good football players, you’d think that would be a problem. But there’s really not that issue in this locker room.

“That’s why I like to be a part of it. It makes it very easy to come back.”

Carr and the Giants tentatively reached their agreement last week but needed time before announcing it. It is for one year, and $925,000.

Carr was Manning’s backup quarterback in 2008 and ‘09. He played in three games the first season and in six games in 2009 and in those two seasons, he completed 33 of 42 passes (78.6 percent) for 340 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

TULLOCH REWARDED WITH FIVE-YEAR DEAL: Too small. Too slow.

Stephen Tulloch has heard those things for much of his life, forcing him to settle for playing at North Carolina State after being a high school star in Miami. The linebacker just kept making plays in college, but standing shorter than 6 foot and approaching a 5-second 40-yard dash left him available in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL draft when Tennessee took him.

When Tulloch got a chance to start for the Titans, he made the most of it and led them with 300-plus tackles combined over the 2009 and 2010 seasons. The franchise, though, didn’t make much of an effort to keep him around.

Tulloch gambled on himself by signing a one-year deal last summer with the Detroit Lions and it paid off with a five-year contract worth $25.5 million, including $11.25 million guaranteed according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because financial terms weren’t announced.

“I dreamed about this moment my whole life,” the 27-year-old Tulloch said Thursday at a news conference following his signing.

Lions general manager Martin Mayhew and coach Jim Schwartz were pretty fired up about it, too.

“He’s a really important part of what we’re doing,” Mayhew said. “So, we’re excited to have Stephen back.”

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